Effects of Small-Sided Games vs. Interval Training in Aerobic Fitness and Physical Enjoyment in Young Elite Soccer Players

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Small-Sided Games (SSG) vs. Interval Training (IT) in soccer training on aerobic fitness and physical enjoyment in youth elite soccer players during the last 8 weeks of the season. Seventeen U-16 male soccer players (age = 15.5 +/- 0.6 years, and 8.5 years of experience) of a Spanish First Division club academy were randomized to 2 different groups for 6 weeks: SSG group (n = 9) and IT group (n = 8). In addition to the usual technical and tactical sessions and competitive games, the SSG group performed 11 sessions with different SSGs, whereas the IT group performed the same number of sessions of IT. Players were tested before and after the 6-week training intervention with a continuous maximal multistage running field test and the counter movement jump test (CMJ). At the end of the study, players answered the physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES). During the study, heart rate (HR) and session perceived effort (sRPE) were assessed. SSGs were as effective as IT in maintaining the aerobic fitness in elite young soccer players during the last weeks of the season. Players in the SSG group declared a greater physical enjoyment than IT (P = 0.006; ES = 1.86 +/- 1.07). Coaches could use SSG training during the last weeks of the season as an option without fear of losing aerobic fitness while promoting high physical enjoyment.

Análise dinâmica e estudo de conforto humano das arquibancadas do Estádio Nacional de Brasília.

Ao longo dos anos, inúmeros estádios de futebol no Brasil têm sido projetados para suportar as cargas acidentais (carga de pessoas) como sendo do tipo estática (4kN/m2). Entretanto, ultimamente com base na mudança do comportamento do público, especialmente em jogos de futebol, através da ação de torcidas organizadas e, ainda, com o emprego desses estádios para shows de música, os sistemas estruturais passaram a sofrer um maior impacto pela natureza dinâmica dos carregamentos solicitantes. Assim sendo, alguns destes estádios passaram a apresentar problemas de vibrações excessivas e tornou-se necessária a consideração efetiva das cargas dinâmicas nos projetos estruturais. Deste modo, este trabalho de pesquisa objetiva o estudo do comportamento dinâmico e avaliação do desempenho do sistema estrutural das arquibancadas do Estádio Nacional de Brasília, no que diz respeito ao conforto humano. Cabe ressaltar que o referido estádio foi projetado e construído para ser utilizado na Copa do Mundo de 2014, realizada no Brasil. Os resultados alcançados ao longo do desenvolvimento deste estudo são confrontados com aqueles fornecidos por normas e recomendações internacionais de projeto. Os resultados revelam a importância da análise dinâmica para o projeto de estádios de futebol, no que tange a obtenção de dados relevantes para o conforto humano e, bem como, segurança dos usuários desse tipo de estrutura.

Non-goal scene analysis for soccer video

The broadcast soccer video is usually recorded by one main camera, which is constantly gazing somewhere of playfield where a highlight event is happening. So the camera parameters and their variety have close relationship with semantic information of soccer video, and much interest has been caught in camera calibration for soccer video. The previous calibration methods either deal with goal scene, or have strict calibration conditions and high complexity. So, it does not properly handle the non-goal scene such as midfield or center-forward scene. In this paper, based on a new soccer field model, a field symbol extraction algorithm is proposed to extract the calibration information. Then a two-stage calibration approach is developed which can calibrate camera not only for goal scene but also for non-goal scene. The preliminary experimental results demonstrate its robustness and accuracy. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of a sport-specific exercise protocol for elite youth soccer players

Thatcher, Rhys, and Alan Batterham, 'Development and validation of a sport-specific exercise protocol for elite youth soccer players', Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, (2004) 44(1) pp.15-22 RAE2008

Comparison of dynamic balance in adolescent male soccer players from rwanda and the United States.

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Dynamic balance is an important component of motor skill development. Poor dynamic balance has previously been associated with sport related injury. However, the vast majority of dynamic balance studies as they relate to sport injury have occurred in developed North American or European countries. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare dynamic balance in adolescent male soccer players from Rwanda to a matched group from the United States. METHODS: Twenty-six adolescent male soccer players from Rwanda and 26 age- and gender-matched control subjects from the United States were screened using the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test during their pre-participation physical. Reach asymmetry (cm) between limbs was examined for all reach directions. In addition, reach distance in each direction (normalized to limb length, %LL) and the composite reach score (also normalized to %LL) were examined. Dependent samples t-tests were performed with significant differences identified at p<0.05. RESULTS: Twenty-six male soccer players from Rwanda (R) were matched to twenty-six male soccer players from the United States (US). The Rwandan soccer players performed better in the anterior (R: 83.9 ± 3.2 %LL; US: 76.5 ± 6.6 %LL, p<0.01), posterolateral (R: 114.4 ± 8.3 %LL ; US: 106.5 ± 8.2 %LL, p<0.01) and composite (R: 105.6 ± 1.3 %LL; US: 97.8 ± 6.2 %LL, p<0.01) reach scores. No significant differences between groups were observed for reach asymmetry. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent soccer players from Rwanda exhibit superior performance on a standardized dynamic balance test as comparison to similar athletes from the United States. The examination of movement abilities of athletes from countries of various origins may allow for a greater understanding of the range of true normative values for dynamic balance. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: 3b.

Mental hoop diaries: emotional memories of a college basketball game in rival fans.

The rivalry between the men's basketball teams of Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) is one of the most storied traditions in college sports. A subculture of students at each university form social bonds with fellow fans, develop expertise in college basketball rules, team statistics, and individual players, and self-identify as a member of a fan group. The present study capitalized on the high personal investment of these fans and the strong affective tenor of a Duke-UNC basketball game to examine the neural correlates of emotional memory retrieval for a complex sporting event. Male fans watched a competitive, archived game in a social setting. During a subsequent functional magnetic resonance imaging session, participants viewed video clips depicting individual plays of the game that ended with the ball being released toward the basket. For each play, participants recalled whether or not the shot went into the basket. Hemodynamic signal changes time locked to correct memory decisions were analyzed as a function of emotional intensity and valence, according to the fan's perspective. Results showed intensity-modulated retrieval activity in midline cortical structures, sensorimotor cortex, the striatum, and the medial temporal lobe, including the amygdala. Positively valent memories specifically recruited processing in dorsal frontoparietal regions, and additional activity in the insula and medial temporal lobe for positively valent shots recalled with high confidence. This novel paradigm reveals how brain regions implicated in emotion, memory retrieval, visuomotor imagery, and social cognition contribute to the recollection of specific plays in the mind of a sports fan.

Optic variables used to judge future ball arrival position in expert and novice soccer players

Although many studies have looked at the perceptual-cognitive strategies used to make anticipatory judgments in sport, few have examined the informational invariants that our visual system may be attuned to. Using immersive interactive virtual reality to simulate the aerodynamics of the trajectory of a ball with and without sidespin, the present study examined the ability of expert and novice soccer players to make judgments about the ball's future arrival position. An analysis of their judgment responses showed how participants were strongly influenced by the ball's trajectory. The changes in trajectory caused by sidespin led to erroneous predictions about the ball's future arrival position. An analysis of potential informational variables that could explain these results points to the use of a first-order compound variable combining optical expansion and optical displacement.